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Once


Once
sky and earth clung
to each other
while
between them
their children struggled
in the darkness
between
struggled to make lives
of their own
in darkness only
till tane
earth deep heaven high tane
tane between rang iand papa
tane mahuta
pushed apart his parents
with forests
of green and light
with pillars of living wood
and the voices
of the birds of the air
and of the birds of the ground's cool darkness
filled the space between with tane's praises
and the insects whispered
in their dark places
aroha
aroha

and once
tane praised by birds
guided by his mother's wisdom
drew hine ahuone
from the earth of the forest floor
shaped the birth and death
of te tangata
from the body of papa
and his own breath
and the people filled the forest
and all the land
te tangata
tangata whenua

and tane
bearing three baskets
brought knowledge to the people of the land
so that when the people borrowed from the forest
they called upon tane's blessing in
their need
asked leave to take each tree felled
for their need
with blades of polished stone
and fire
crafted great vessels to move upon the water
but there came others
who saw the land with different eyes
saw the forest with different eyes
and they cut at the living forest with blades of steel
not blades of polished stone
and fire
but did not ask tane's leave
and they cut so many trees
without respect for the body of the forest
so many trees
that all the birds of the forest
all of the insects
could not raise the fallen trees
before they were dragged away
before all of the forest was dragged away
with only a few great god trees left
to hold apart the earth from the sky
and to shelter the birds of the bright air
of the cool darkness
the insects of the dark hidden places
and the living forest
was still

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Background Copyright � JPayne 1997

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